NADER, YABUSELE LEAD RED CLAWS TO VICTORY
December 17, 2017 - NBA G League (G League)
Maine Celtics News Release
Portland, ME - December 14, 2017 - The Maine Red Claws, presented by Unum, lost the lead, then re-gained the lead late, hanging on to a 110-107 victory over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
Maine (9-8) was led by their two players on assignment from the Boston Celtics. Abdel Nader led all scorers with 35 points on 13-22 shooting, including a huge three late in the game. Guerschon Yabusele added 23 points (10-17 FG), 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Celtics Two-Way Players Kadeem Allen and Jabari Bird added 17 points and 13 points, respectively. Devin Williams grabbed 12 rebounds in the win.
Fort Wayne (10-5) was led by Jarrod Uthoff with 25 points. The Mad Ants have now lost 3 straight games.
Yabusele started the scoring on the low post, dropping in a hook shot early, then his offensive board turned into an assist for Devin Williams. Nader's running bank and Bird's reverse lay-in helped Maine keep pace with the Mad Ants early. Nader's driving lay-in made it 12-10 Red Claws. Nader continued the hot start, dropping in a three to give him 13 of Maine's first 23 points. The Claws took a 23-16 lead. Nader finished with 16 points in the 1st, playing all 12 minutes, and the Red Claws had a 28-20 lead after 1. Fort Wayne stayed in the game on repeated Alex Poythress slam dunks.
In the 2nd, Yabusele opened the quarter by rocking the rim on an emphatic slam. Maine opened the 2nd on a 12-4 run, extending the lead to 40-24 on another Yabusele dunk. Off a monster Yabu block, Nader dropped in another bucket, and followed that with a lay-in to extend the lead to 50-33. Nader's 2nd chance lay-in made it a 20-point advantage. The Red Claws put the pressure on, with Nader leading the charge. Bird's three-point play at the end of the quarter gave Maine a 64-47 lead at the half. Maine out-scored Fort Wayne 36-27 in the 2nd, and shot 60.5% (26-43) from the field in the first half.
The 3rd quarter saw the Mad Ants try to get back into the game. Poythress knocked in Fort Wayne's first three of the game, and the lead was down to 13 at 70-57. Bird's steal turned into a monster slam for Nader. Fort Wayne heated up from the outside - Jarrod Uthoff's three followed by a Poythress steal and bucket made it 72-65. Yabusele answered that with a basket down low. Bird started to take over, scoring 4 straight. Uthoff started to get in the groove offensively, and Fort Wayne out-scored Maine 27-20, and the lead for the Claws was just 84-74. Maine went 0-6 from downtown in the quarter, while Fort Wayne went 4-5.
In the 4th, Yabusele and Nader each scored quick lay-ups. The Mad Ants weren't done. Uthoff drained a jumper to make it 88-79. The run surged to 11-4 for the Ants, and it suddenly was a 3 point game. Nader stopped the bleeding with a driving lay-up. Allen followed that up with 4 straight points, and Maine's lead was 96-91 with 5:15 to go. Walt Lemon's got the Mad Ants to 1 on a Walt Lemon lay-in. Lemon followed that up with another easy lay-up and the game was tied at 97. Uthoff buried a contested three to give the Mad Ants a 102-99 lead. Uthoff buried another deep three to put Fort Wayne up 4 with :53.2 left. Yabusele scored to cut it to 105-103 with :39.8 to go. Nader buried a corner 3 to make it 107-106 Fort Wayne with :28.6 left. Off an Allen steal, Yabusele's put-back gave Maine the lead. After a huge Nader block and Yabusele rebound, Allen knocked in two free throws to put the game away. Maine shot 52.9% from the floor (45-85), and 24% (6-25) from downtown. Fort Wayne shot 48.8% (41-84) from the field, and 42.9% (6-14) from three-point range.
The Red Claws are back at the Expo Saturday night against Salt Lake City. Tickets are on sale now by calling 207-210-6655 or visiting MaineRedClaws.com.
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